


The Visiting Noble (One Shot)

by AdyBrooke14



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Abuse, BBC, BBC is a destroyer of souls, F/M, Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Protective Knights (Merlin), Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-11-02 07:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20665958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdyBrooke14/pseuds/AdyBrooke14
Summary: When Lord Bedavir visits Camelot, he isn't too pleased with the way Merlin speaks to the Prince Arthur. Bedavir decides to teach Merlin a lesson, but Arthur doesn't notice the change in his servant until it's too late. Merlin starts to wonder if he'd be better off dead. Can Arthur save his manservant, or will it be too late?Bedavir crossed the room and grabbed Merlin around the neck, lifting him into the air.“YOU THINK I HAVEN’T SEEN THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR MASTER? YOU HAVE NO HONOR!”“Sir, please!” Merlin choked weakly.Bedavir dropped Merlin, bruises already forming around his neck. Merlin collapsed to the floor, trying weakly to get up. Bedavir kicked him vigorously, and Merlin gasped clutching a broken rub as Bedavir then started kicking his leg and continued until Merlin was too weak to cry out. Merlin knew he couldn’t fight back or he would be executed, the same thing if he used magic and he was too weak to cry out.“From this point on, you will act as you should, nothing but a mute servant! Do you understand! You will speak when spoken to, address the prince by his title, and perform your duties without complaint, or I assure you’ve only seen a glimpse of the pain I will bring you!”





	The Visiting Noble (One Shot)

**Author's Note:**

> I already know this is a popular prompt, but I loved the idea so much, I really wanted to use it! Please enjoy.

Merlin followed Arthur grumpily, carrying an armful of armor in front of him. It was hard to even see his prince in front him with the tall pile he struggled to hold.  
“Hurry up, Merlin.” The royal sighed.  
Merlin growled but followed nonetheless and Arthur led him to the armory so Merlin could attach him chainmail together. Merlin set the armor down on a bench and began to fasten the straps around Arthur’ shoulders. Merlin stepped back once he was done and admired his handiwork.  
“Merlin, Lord Bedavir will be here in an hour. I presume you have straightened the guest chambers?”  
“Of course sire!” Merlin replied absently staring at the training field. Arthur sighed and left the armory to train his knights. Merlin often enjoyed watching training, so he grabbed one of Arthur’s swords to polish while he watched, so Arthur couldn’t say he wasn’t being productive. Arthur, of course, was the best of his knights. He had been training since he was a small boy and every lord in the five kingdoms enjoyed watching him grow into Camelot’s finest knight. Arthur had that in his head and therefore hardly tried when they were training, thinking they weren’t as good as him. Although that was the truth, Sir Elyan even managed to land Arthur in the mud, face first. Arthur growled furiously and was about to charge Elyan when the sound of large hoof steps echoed through the entrance to Camelot. In unison, all the knights turned their heads to see and lean man with a broad chest, clothed in golden chainmail and hard, green eyes. His hair was a dirty blonde and he had a bit of a scruff in his chin. Three guards rode behind him and unmounted, each grabbing one of his bags off of his horse. Uther came running down the stairs of the palace, smiling at the sight of the rich-looking Lord Bedavir.  
“Bedavir! It’s been far too long!”  
“Oh, hasn’t it Uther! It’s only too good to see Camelot again!”  
Merlin didn’t miss the greedy look in his eyes and he hungrily gazed at the castle.  
“Lord Bedavir! This is my manservant, Merlin. Merlin here will show you to your rooms. Anything you need, he will gladly get done.”  
“You actually know your servants' names?” Bedavir scoffed.  
Merlin saw Arthur grit his teeth and quickly rushed to help Bedavir before things turned south.  
“This way, my lord,” Merlin mumbled. Bedavir handed him three of his bags and Merlin began to stagger, but continued walking, not wanting to seem weak. Bedavir smirked as he followed Merlin. Luckily, his room was only on the third floor so Merlin didn’t have to climb many sets of steps. Bedavir seemed disappointed by this but said nothing as Merlin set his baggage down.  
“That will be all,” Bedavir said and Merlin bowed before practically sprinting so Bedavir wouldn’t give him another job. He rushed straight to Arthur’s chambers and glared at the prince. Arthur narrowed his eyes at the cold look his servant was giving him.  
“What is it, Merlin?”  
“You seriously expect me to work for him?”  
“Yes, I do actually, because let me see, That’s your job! Go on then, since he doesn’t see to need you, you can scrub my floors.”  
Merlin groaned and grabbed the bucket from beside the door. He lifted a dripping rag from it and glared at Arthur before flinging some water on him. Arthur tried to look furious, but a smile crept upon his face as he lowered his head back to his work. He smirked in satisfaction as Merlin crawled around the room on his hands and knees, scrubbing tirelessly. To Merlin’s relief, he finished scrubbing in two hours and Bedavir had no need of him for the rest of the evening. At dark, Arthur walked in moaning and plopped in his chair by the fireplace. Merlin walked to Arthur’s side and helped him off with his boots and he felt Arthur’s stare on his back.  
“Merlin, have you had a break today?”  
“Can’t say I have Arthur.”  
“Pull up a chair.”  
“Thank you, sire.”  
Arthur nodded but said nothing as Merlin poured Arthur a cup of red wine and he downed his cup in one gulp. They talked together well into the night, Arthur ranting about the boring meetings his father forced him to attend and Merlin quietly listened, glad to speak with his master and only spoke when Arthur looked to him for agreement or asked him a question. When Arthur finally began to nod off, Merlin helped him to his bed and made him as comfortable as possible before blowing out the candles and straightened the room quickly before leaving for his own bed and when he did, he was out within seconds.  
To Merlin’s surprise, he woke up past dawn and it was well into the morning. He panicked, thinking he forgot to wake Arthur. He ran from his room in a panic, grabbing his neckerchief on the way out of his room. He spotted Gaius calmly mixing together a tonic for a simple illness in the lower town.  
“Gaius! Why didn’t you wake me? Arthur will have my head!”  
“Relax, Merlin. Arthur said to let you sleep this morning when he came by earlier. He wants you to get his stuff ready for the hunting trip this afternoon, Sir Bedavir will be coming.”  
Merlin let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on a stool beside Gaius and watched the old man mix herbs before slowly rising to his feet and walking to the stables to get Arthur’s horse prepared. At noon, Arthur came by to gather his horse followed by Sir Bedavir and six knights chose to accompany them. Bedavir has brought three of his own men and Arthur had brought three of his knights. Bedavir only traveled with three men to Camelot and when he heard Arthur was only bringing three, he only thought it fair to equal it out. Merlin handed Bedavir and Arthur the reigns to their horses before grabbing his own and mounting it. Bedavir’s eyes opened wide with shock and his head turned to Arthur in disbelief.  
“With all due respect sire, your bringing a servant with us? What good will he do?”  
“Merlin will be cooking for us this evening unless you would prefer doing it yourself and that would be a shame, because Merlin here makes the best soup of Camelot. He will also be tending to the horses and we can always send him in to flush our quarry out if need be.”  
Bedavir frowned but said nothing more. However, Bedavir’s surprise had only begun. Merlin naturally rode beside Arthur and they both chatted mindlessly.  
“Merlin, why are you so squirmy, honestly has someone put ants up your legs?”  
“No, sire.” Merlin replies, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “My bottoms rather sore.”  
“Don’t be such a girl Merlin.”  
“Takes one to know one,” snapped Merlin with a satisfied smirk. Arthur shoves Merlin and Merlin shoves him back. Arthur began to slide off his horse, and Merlin started laughing as he fell in the bushes. Arthur stood up with a wicked smile, twigs sticking out of his hair in every direction.  
“No, no, no, no!” Cried Merlin nervously. He jumped from his horse and tried to escape, but Arthur grabbed his collar and began to drag a squealing Merlin towards the pond they had stopped beside after Arthur fell from his horse.  
“Arthur, please, let’s think about this.” Merlin tried to reason, thrashing and tugging but nothing would get rid of the evil grin on Arthur’s face as he threw Merlin in the pond. Bedavir smiled with delight, happy that there was some discipline in Camelot after all. He never let his servant talk to him like that, nor would he let his servant ever push him off his horse, heaven forbid! Arthur watched intently for Merlin to resurface, and slowly the prince began to panic, fearing the worst. Oh, great! He had killed his servant! His only true friend would lay dead, beneath the icy waters. “Merlin! Merlin, it’s not funny, come on!” Arthur screamed. He walked towards the edge and began to take his boots off, to Bedavir’s confusion. Just as Arthur was about to go in and look for Merlin, a pale hand shot out of the water and grabbed Arthur’s ankle, dragging the prince into the water.  
Merlin dragged himself from the water in hysterics, dying from laughter. Bedavir exchanged a horrified look with his men.  
“Oh, your dead!” Arthur screamed and ran towards Merlin. Merlin shrieked And was about to try and dive back in the water when Arthur grabbed his neck with one arm and dunked him under the water. He held him under there for several minutes before Merlin finally broke free of his grasp coughing violently and began to retch several heaves of water. Arthur left him and hopped back on his horse, and began leading his men as they rode away. Merlin mumbles angrily to himself as he untied his horse and followed in pursuit.

After what seemed like ages of waiting silently to Merlin, Arthur finally spotted a doe. He raised his crossbow and was prepared to shoot, when Merlin sneezed loudly, beginning to catch a cold from his experience at the pond. Arthur, of course, has been given plenty of blankets to dry himself off quickly while Merlin still wore sopping wet clothing. Arthur glared at Merlin but there was a small twitch of a grin on his face.  
“Sire! You would let such incompetent scum disturb a good hunt?”  
Merlin didn’t miss the look of anger that briefly crossed Arthur’s face before he wiped it away.  
“Relax, Bedavir. I’m positive we will find another. That was only a doe anyway, practically a fawn. We’ll continue looking." As the evening passed on, Arthur brought down two stags and Bedavir brought down an elk. Arthur gave a deer to Merlin to cook for supper as they all started a campfire and slowly dropped like flies. After Merlin completed cooking for the six knights and two lords, he washed the large basin at the closet lake he could find. He ate nothing himself, knowing there wasn’t enough deer for all of them. After washing the basin, he went back to the camp to find the other eight men sleeping soundly. He sighed and scrubbed the horses, then fed them and began to groom their manes. Once he finished that he stayed up and took watch, knowing the woods was primal bandit territory. In the morning, as they all woke, Arthur stared in horror at a shivering Merlin shaking against a tree stump with bags under his eyes and a pale expression. Arthur took his red cloak off and handed it to Merlin, who gratefully accepted it and wrapped it around himself wearily.  
“We ride back to Camelot at once!” Arthur demanded.  
“Surely we have time for one more catch, sire?” Bedavir pleaded.  
Arthur shook his head.“No, my manservant might get grievously ill if we don’t get him to Camelot.”  
Bedavir was furious.  
“You would stop an entire hunt, for a servant?”  
“Bedavir, I will have you know that when a man’s life is at stake, no matter what class he is a part of, I will do everything in my power to help. If Merlin continues like this he will only get worse and worse, so I suggest we get back to Camelot. Any more objections? Good. let’s move out.”  
Merlin gave Arthur a look filled with gratitude and Arthus simply nodded in return before gesturing to ride beside him. He was going to try and keep his servant awake the ride back and the whole trip back asked him questions and told him the few jokes he knew. When they got back, Merlin began to walk to his chambers.  
“Oh, and Merlin I’ll need you to straighten my room tonight and bring me my supper, that should be all I require of you.”  
Merlin nodded and left to take a long-deserved nap.

As night began to fall, Merlin groggily woke himself up and took Arthur his dinner, mumbling under his breath at the prince for having to wake up. Finally, Merlin set Arthur’s meal in front of him and began to pick things up around the room. Arthur had obviously thrown his stuff from the hunting trip on his floor, as he had a habit with all of his things. Before Merlin left, he made ready Arthur’s bed.  
“Goodnight, Arthur.” Merlin yawned as he bowed to the prince in farewell.  
“Night, Merlin,” Arthur mumbled as he continued his paperwork.

Merlin got up before dawn to fetch Arthur’s breakfast before he brought it to the prince. He passed a servant in the hallway who looked up at him with recognition.  
“You are the prince’s manservant.”  
“That would be me, yes.”  
“The king requests his presence in the throne room.”  
Merlin nodded and continued to Arthur’s chambers. Little did he see Bedavir following him. Merlin kicked the door open with his foot since he was carrying a tray to find Arthur snoring loudly, sprawled out on his bed. Merlin rolled his eyes, knowing it would only be harder to wake him. He set the tray down and threw the curtains open.  
“Up you get!” Merlin hollered.  
Bedavir looked through a whole in the now-closed door.  
“Merlin! Leave me alone!” the prince groaned before rolling over.  
“No, we don’t have time for this, your father wants to see you in the throne room,” Merlin said. He grabbed Arthur’s arms and drug him off the bed so the prince fell ungracefully on the floor.  
“Merlin!” Arthur growled. Bedavir watched the exchange with horror. Who did that manservant think he was?  
Merlin dressed Arthur in his armor for training after his father finished speaking with him. After Arthur was prepared, Merlin trailed after him like a shadow to the throne room and stood on the side with the other servants.  
“Arthur! Sir Bedavir tells me that you ruined a good hunt for a servant!”  
Merlin wished the floor would open up and swallow him while Gwen supportively put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him he had nothing to feel bad about. Bedavir stood beside the king’s throne, a large smirk on his face as he glared at Merlin purposefully.  
“What Sir Bedavir says is true, I did sacrifice a hunt for a servant, but they were gravely ill, and I didn’t want to risk him scaring off the game.”  
Merlin sighed in relief that Arthur had not specifically pointed him out. Bedavir noticeably paled at Arthur’s valid argument.  
“Very well, Arthur. Make sure it doesn’t happen again or I’ll throw this “servant” in the stocks. You’re all dismissed.”  
Arthur nodded and left, but before Merlin could walk out, he saw Bedavir glare at him with a look that clearly said, this is far from over. Merlin shivered and quickly hurried to scurry after his master.

“Over, head, side, shield. Over, side, shield, shield.” Arthur commanded each blow as he was showing a new knight different techniques. Bedavir was standing off to the side, watching Arthur’s footwork. Once Arthur was finished, he walked to Merlin’s side and downed a cup of wine quickly. Bedavir followed to hear their conversation.  
“So, what did you think? I think I’m making it to easy for them.”  
Merlin nodded in agreement.  
“I agree, Arthur. You shouting out commands give them plenty of time to block you. An enemy on the battlefield won’t do that.”  
“Why did I even ask you, of all people? The commands are meant to help them recognize the different attacks, but how would you know, your just an idiot” Arthur teased, punching Merlin in the arm. Merlin shoved him back, but Arthur laughed when Merlin wasn’t able to make him move an inch.  
“Prat!” Merlin hollered as he continued trying to push Arthur, but failed.  
Bedavir was furious to see that Arthur was just laughing as his servant called his names. In his lands, that was ground for a duel!  
As soon as training was over, Bedavir summoned Merlin to his chambers.  
“You called for me, my lord?” Merlin inquired, bowing.  
“Oh, don’t act like you know the first think about respect, filth!”  
Merlin looked up in surprise, not knowing how to react.  
“Whatever do you mean, sir?”  
Bedavir crossed the room and grabbed Merlin around the neck, lifting him into the air.  
“YOU THINK I HAVEN’T SEEN THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR MASTER? YOU HAVE NO HONOR!”  
“Sir, please!” Merlin choked weakly.  
Bedavir dropped Merlin, bruises already forming around his neck. Merlin collapsed to the floor, trying weakly to get up. Bedavir kicked him vigorously, and Merlin gasped clutching a broken rub as Bedavir then started kicking his leg and continued until Merlin was too weak to cry out. Merlin knew he couldn’t fight back or he would be executed, the same thing if he used magic and he was too weak to cry out.  
“From this point on, you will act as you should, nothing but a mute servant! Do you understand! You will speak when spoken to, address the prince by his title, and perform your duties without complaint, or I assure you’ve only seen a glimpse of the pain I will bring you!”  
Merlin nodded weakly and Bedavir gave him one more kick to the head before strolling out of his chambers. Merlin laid on the floor, gasping for several minutes before attempting to gather his strength and stand. He leaned heavily against the wall and short, ragged breaths escaped his thin form. He tried limping to Gaius’s chambers and held himself up against the wall as he stumbled through the corridors. Finally, he limped in clutching his broken rib and collapsed on the bench, grateful Arthur didn’t see him in such a sorry state. He decided he would keep this from the prince. Arthur couldn’t do anything to him anyway because his father would demand to know why, and it was Merlin’s word against Bedavir’s. Gaius stumbled in and stared at his ward in horror. He dropped his supplies and raced to Merlin’s side, helping his take off his shirt as he assessed the damage. Merlin was barely conscious as Gaius worked on him, and Gaius decided not to ask Merlin questions until he was able to talk. Merlin hissed, but that was all he had the strength for as Gaius set his rib in place and began to stench Merlin’s bleeding. When had he started bleeding? His blood flowed freely from his wound in the head and Gaius tried desperately to stop it best he could. Merlin finally fell asleep and Gaius put him in a comfortable position on the table.  
Merlin woke up at nightfall. Perfect timing to bring Arthur his dinner. Merlin rushed up quickly and winced as his rib caused him tremendous pain. He swung his legs off the table to stand and hissed as his right lege hit the floor. He vaguely remembered being kicked repeatedly in the leg and swallowed at the painful memory. He continued through the halls of Camelot, trying to keep his limp as unnoticeable as possible when he passed other servants. He occasionally felt a glare on his back and shuddered, knowing Bedavir was never far. Merlin smiled at the kitchen maids politely as he carried Arthur’s supper from the heated room. He continued hobbling down the corridors without complaint and finally broke in Arthur’s room.  
“Ah! Merlin! It’s about time you arrived. I’ve been waiting for my food for ages!”  
He grabbed his fork and looked at the plate maliciously.  
“My sincerest apologies, sire. It won’t happen again. Is there anything else you’ll be needing?”  
Arthur stopped his knife in mid-air and paused to look up at Merlin.  
“You must be feeling unusually polite this evening.”  
Merlin bowed and walked to the door, standing at the entrance waiting for further instructions from Arthur. It wasn’t that Merlin wasn’t a good servant, he just chose not to be on some occasions. Arthur stood from his chair and crossed his arms, walking to stand in front of Merlin.  
“Alright, what is it? Do you have a headache from the tavern last night?”  
“No, my lord. May I please be pardoned for the night?”  
Arthur sighed and gave up.  
“Fine, but be here at dawn, I have to get up for an early meeting and then a tournament right after.”  
Merlin nodded and bowed once more to Arthur’s irritation. Yes, sometimes the way Merlin treated him was annoying, but he loved the moments when Merlin made him feel human. Instead of addressing him by his titles with every breath or bowing after every sentence, Merlin told Arthur what he needed to hear and treated him as an equal. Arthur cherished those memories more than he could express, and it aches to see his closest and most loyal friend act the same as every servant did, though Arthur would obviously deny the thought.  
Merlin walked straight to his bed and remembered nothing else of that night.

To Merlin’s delight, he woke before the sky began to shine, and he was thrilled he had plenty of time to wake Arthur. He swallowed his nervousness, frantic Arthur would repeat last night and continue to question him. Surely not, he argued to himself. He was giving himself too much credit, Arthur wouldn’t even care if something was different. Merlin fetched Arthur’s food and quickly rushed to the prince’s chambers. He went to the table Arthur usually ate at and placed his meal there, and went to open the windows. Arthur growled, knowing what would surely come next. Merlin would toss him on the floor or pour a cup of freezing water on his face. Merlin walked to the end of Arthur’s bed and stared straight ahead at the wall refusing to make eye contact. “Good morning, sire. I have brought you your breakfast and sharpened you sword for the tournament this evening. You must get dressed for the meeting in one hour.”  
Arthur’s eyes were fully open now as he sat up in his bed with surprise. There was no way Merlin did all of that and woke him up on time.  
“Merlin, are you feeling ill? Perhaps you should take the day off.”  
“No thank you, my lord. I feel quite fine, thank you.”  
Arthur stared at Merlin suspiciously.  
“Alright, where have you hidden my servant? Whoever you are you’ve done a terrible job of impersonating him.”  
Merlin looked at the floor, he felt his heart continue to beat rapidly. Arthur knew something was wrong.  
“Tis’ me, Art- Sire.”  
“Merlin, look at me.”  
Merlin swallowed and continued to look at the floor.  
“Merlin. That’s an order.”  
Merlin looked up into Arthur’s eyes, tears beginning to pool in his own.  
“Sire, you must eat,” Merlin choked out.  
“No. you are going to tell me what’s wrong.”  
“Fine. er- Gaius had become ill and I fear that it is grave.”  
“Perhaps you should stay with him.”  
“It is my job to serve you sire, not the physician.”  
Arthur sighed and gave up, walking to the table so he could eat.  
“Merlin, some wine.”  
Merlin nodded and carried the pitcher across the room and Arthur immediately noticed the limp and the way he sucked in his breath when he moved.  
“Why are you limping?”Arthur demanded.  
“I tripped down the stairs, my lord.”  
Arthur rolled his eyes and he ate his meal and Merlin prepared him for the meeting in silence, to his annoyance. He missed Merlin and began to hope Gaius got well quickly. He spotted Merlin putting another hole in his belt and snarled in anger.  
“Merlin, what do you think you're doing?”  
“Loosening your belt, sire.”  
“My belt is perfectly fine, thank you,” Arthur demanded. Without thinking, he grabbed a pillow off the floor and threw it at his servant. He didn’t miss how pale Merlin became when the pillow landed in his broken rib, but Merlin let out a soft, inaudible whine and Arthur immediately felt bad. What was wrong with Merlin? He knew he shouldn’t have hit Merlin, but he was more than angered that his loyalist friend was the same as everyone else. As they walked to the meeting, Arthur didn’t miss that Merlin walked behind him like a shadow, instead of walking by his side and chatting with him like usual. Merlin was no better during the meeting. He almost screamed when he saw Gaius sitting at the table, in perfect health. He took his usual spot, holding a pitcher behind Arthur’s chair to make sure his master’s cup never ran dry. He bent down to refill Arthur’s cup when Arthur saw Bedavir, who was sitting beside him, purposely bump Merlin. it was hardly noticeable, but Arthur didn’t miss it. The pitcher flew from Merlin’s hands straight into Arthur’s lap, soaking him in what was luckily water. Arthur expected to see Merlin fighting back a smirk, but the servant’s face was frantic, desperately trying to dry his master.  
“Fool!” Cried Uther.  
“Father please, no harm has been done. He’s just a simple-minded fool, ignore him.”  
Uther was seething but did as he was requested and complied to his son’s wish.  
As soon as the meeting was over, Merlin darted from the room. If he was fast, he could escape from Bedavir’s clutches. He was mistaken only too much. He felt a strong hand grasp his arm and fling him into Bedavir’s chambers. Merlin stared in panic as Bedavir drew his dagger and placed it at Merlin’s throat.  
“You thought you could escape?” He sneered. He slowly drew the long knife down Merlin’s throat and down his chest agonizingly slow so he would drag out the suffering. Immediately, scarlet beads raced from his chest, as if they couldn’t escape his body quickly enough. He let out a small whimper, exhausted and scared to do much else. Finally, after dragging the dagger deep into his skin and down to his stomach, Bedavir removed the blade and wiped it on his shirt.  
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson boy. Now, get out of my sight.”  
Merlin swayed as he stood and clutched his shirt together as he ran to Gaius’s chambers. He would have to get patched up before he had to prepare Arthur for the tournament. He suddenly panicked, knowing Arthur found out he lied to him. That was very well grounds for treason! Merlin scrambled to the table with cloth and began to wrap in, but couldn’t reach his hands behind his back to fully wrap it around his waist.  
“Merlin!” He heard Gaius cry. The old man walked quickly to analyze Merlin’s wound. And instantly held out his hands for Merlin to give him the bandages. Merlin complied and surrendered them with a sigh.  
“Alright, I didn’t say anything last night but enough is enough. Who is doing this to you?”  
“Sir Bedavir. He believes I don’t behave like a proper servant and believe it’s his duty to teach me “lessons”.  
“Oh, Merlin. You must tell Arthur!”  
“NO! Arthur can’t know or he will ruin Camelot’s relationship with this lord and he would be a valuable knight in Camelot. I’m just a servant to them, it won’t matter.”  
“My boy, you are the greatest sorcerer to walk the earth. You shouldn’t be treated like this.”  
“If Arthur ever found that out, I wouldn’t be anymore.”  
Gaius sighed but finally finished wrapping Merlin up and the young warlock raced to dress his master for the tournament. Arthur looked up at Merlin’s entrance and shot him a furious glare. Merlin quickly shut the door, knowing Arthur was about to burst. The prince’s face was already red.  
“YOU LIED TO ME! HOW DARE YOU COMMIT SUCH TREASON?”  
Merlin tensed and began to feel light-headed.  
“Sire, please-“  
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING TODAY, BUT I’M TIRED OF THIS! TELL ME THE TRUTH!”  
“A tear slid down Merlin’s face and he began to tremble, he felt his magic desperately trying to escape, to protect him as Arthur approached. Suddenly, Arthur softened when he saw Merlin looking like a cornered animal.  
“Merlin, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”  
“ It doesn’t matter! I’m nothing but a servant!”  
Arthur stared at Merlin for a second, honestly not knowing what to say.  
“Help me with my armor.” He demand and Merlin slowly fastened the straps on Arthur’s chainmail when an idea came to him. He didn’t have to suffer. He didn’t have to continuously work as a slave for Arthur. He didn’t have to try and be someone he wasn’t because he would be beaten. He didn't have to live as a shadow, reduced to hiding who he really was or he would be burned alive.  
“All done, sire.” Merlin said, mentally preparing for what he was about to do. Arthur nodded and walked out of his room and Merlin watched from the window in Arthur’s room as the prince arrived in the square to sword fight. Merlin numbly, almost like a zombie, walked up to the east tower, the highest wall in the kingdom. It was dizzying to look down, but to Merlin, it seemed inviting. He slowly crawled up on the wall and sat upon it.

Arthur felt the wind blast in his face as he walked into the arena, his opponent at least twice his size. The man was ugly, Arthur had to admit. A long scar ran down his jaw and he wore no chainmail, only rags. Arthur rolled his eyes and lifted his sword to commence battle, and then he saw it. An all to familiar slim figure was sitting on the wall. That wall was known for deaths, from suicides to soldiers being thrown off to their deaths in the heat of battle. Arthur felt his heart drop to his stomach as the body stood fearlessly at the edge glaring down. Everything else in his mind went blank. The world disappeared slowly with each blink one thought drove his body, purely from instinct. Get him down. As Arthur ran from the arena, he was vaguely aware of his father calling his name and guards trying to stop him, but he was running faster than any human ever had.

Merlin rocked back and forth, tempting fate by swaying dangerously on the edge of the wall. Who was he kidding? He was tempting fate by even being up there.in one movement, he leaned too far and closed his eyes as he felt himself begin to fall, and smiled at the thought of all his pain, all of his agonies would be gone with one small movement. Suddenly, Merlin felt agonizing pain shoot from his stomach and he gasped as the air was knocked from him. Is this what it felt like to be dead? He wondered. He heard a comforting and all too familiar voice. No. merlin refused to believe that he could be dead as well. Merlin would drag him back to earth if he had to. He would not allow the man he had spent his life protecting to just die. Still, the voice sounded pleading, as if it was begging him. The owner of the voice was obviously trying and failing to keep the panic from his voice. Merlin opened his eyes and saw that he was dangling several floors from the ground. His belt was cutting into his stomach, his breath knocked from his body and it felt like his torso was being torn in half. He realized someone had caught him before he had fallen.  
“Merlin! Merlin just hang on, whatever you do. I’m right here.”  
Tight arms dragged him back onto the wall and strong arms clasped around him tightly, sobs escaping the prince. Merlin fell into his arms and put his head in Arthur’s chest, and broke down into racking sobs of relief. Relief that Arthur knew he was in pain and he hoped his friend would help him, he knew Arthur would take care of him. Arthur’s tears were not of relief, it overwhelming joy. Joy that Merlin, his brother, was safely in his arms. Joy that he had made it in time. Merlin clenched his fists onto Arthur’s shirt as he was shaking. They both slowly eased to the ground, neither speaking a word. Arthur quickly ceased his tears but he looked down at his frantic friend and embraced him tighter.  
“Shhh, Merlin. You’ll make yourself sick,” Arthur whispered. Merlin nodded and began to stand up and shakily held onto Arthur’s shoulders and Arthur put an arm under his arms to help him walk. Though Arthur was still recovering from the shock, he knew his suffering was nowhere close to Merlin’s. He looked at one of the guards that had chased him.  
“I’m giving you a new order. Your job is to guard this wall, from this day on nobody will be using it to end their own life.”  
The guard nodded and Arthur continued to help Merlin until they arrived in Arthur’s chambers. Arthur didn’t want his friend out of his sight and so he summoned a servant to fetch Gaius. The old physician ran when he heard the news, regardless of his aging health. Gaius grabbed his medical satchel and ran in the room. Merlin barely looked up as the physician entered and wrapped him in his arms tighter than Arthur thought possible.  
“My boy, don’t you ever do that to me!” He cried.  
“The potions, Gaius?” Arthur asked softly without taking his eyes off his servant. He handed Merlin a glass of water to wash down the vile potions Gaius would give him. Merlin swallowed them without argument. One of the potions Gaius have him was a sleeping fraught that would knock him out for a couple of days. When he was soundly asleep on Arthur’s bed, Arthur and Gaius began to talk.  
“Do you know what caused this?” Arthur asked. Gaius handed him a tonic for the shock.  
“He was informing me yesterday that the lord Bedavir has been abusing him.”  
Arthur’s eyes grew dark with fury. He watched furiously as Gaius lifted his servant’s shirt to display a large knife would from his chest to his abdomen. Without saying a word, Arthur raced to the tournament. He searched the tents brutally before finding the snarky lord. Arthur tackles him ferociously, punching the lord mercilessly. Everyone heard the commotion and Uther raced into the tent staring in surprise as he watched his son nearly kill Bedavir.  
“Arthur! Stop this nonsense!”  
Arthur stood up without speaking, his knuckle covered in Bedavir’s blood. He wiped his fists on his shirt and left the tent without so much as looking at his father. Gwen walked up and wrapped her arms around his waist. He bent down and kissed her gently.  
“Arthur? What is it?”  
“That scum abused Merlin.”  
Arthur snarled running his fingers through her curly hair.  
“Well, so do you but you sure don't beat yourself up about it.”  
“That’s not abusing! That’s merely friendly horseplay!” Arthur protested but he made a mental note to ease up on the banter.  
“Anyway, Merlin has a long gash down his torso, and I know he did it. Apparently, his abuse led to Merlin trying to kill himself. I caught him as he fell though.”  
Guinevere’s eyes grew round like moons and she flew from Arthur’s clutch and charged to Arthur’s chambers. When she burst in, she already saw Gwaine, brushing the hair from the young man’s face. An unsettling seriousness on the usually smirking knight was off-putting. Elyan, Leon, Percival, And Lancelot all crowded ono the small bed in Arthur’s room and Lancelot was gently examining Merlin for more injuries, his expression grave. Gwen raced through them and raced to the sleeping young man, clutching his limp body in a one-way hug. She felt tears flow from her eyes, soaking his shirt and neckerchief. She gently removed it and gasped to find bruises surrounding his neck and a surge of anger bubbled through her. She suddenly wanted to follow Arthur’s example and punch Bedavir. Lancelot and Gwaine both had red eyes from clearly holding back tears and Percival, Leon, And Elyan has solemn expressions like the light in their life had been blown out, and that was true. Where would they be without Merlin’s mindless chatter, his contagious and goofy smile, his complaints about Arthur and grumbling in the middle of hunting trips. Arthur slowly walked in and sat on the pillow Merlin’s head rested on, propping Merlin’s head up with his legs much like Merlin has him when he was bitten by the questing beast. Slowly, Merlin’s eyes began to flutter open and Arthur drug him into a hug, holding the Warlock against him.  
“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “Don’t ever make me do that again.”  
And instantly, six knights and a maid tackled him to the bed in a giant hug.


End file.
